


What a Boy Needs

by majesticduxk



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Disordered Eating, Gen, Happy Ending, Kise Ryouta-centric, Kise-centric, Kuroko gets Akashi to deal with it, No Eating Disorder, Protective GoM, Weirdly Fluffy, but some, fainting kise, hurt!Kise, low angst, modeling industry body standards, restricted eating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:34:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27101296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/majesticduxk/pseuds/majesticduxk
Summary: Kise knew that modeling industry standards were ridiculous – he knew that. But when his manager told him he either needed to go on a diet or would lose his job, of course he went on a diet. It was only for eight weeks after all. But wow eight weeks was going to be hard…
Comments: 21
Kudos: 140





	What a Boy Needs

**Author's Note:**

> a/n: I hate eating disorder fics. Like. Hate them. I think all bodies are beautiful, and narrow beauty standards harm us all. But I also feel like eating disorders would be rampant in the modeling industry. And it’s such an easy topic to dip into for some hurt!Kise. So this is my hurt!Kise compromise. He restricts quite heavily, but it’s with pressure from his manager. But he's a sensible kid with friends on his side - of course GoM kick his ass.
> 
> Kise is called fat at the start (although he knows he's not) and the fic doesn't really discuss food (although Kise is in the headspace that goes with restricted eating) so if this is going to be difficult for you, just give this one a miss. But, as I said in the tags, it's weirdly light and fluffy given the topic. If you decide to read, let me know what you think!

“You’re getting fat, Kise. The last few photographers have commented on it.” 

Kise froze as his manager, Satori-san ran a relentless eye up and down his body. Controlling his automatic response, he left his hands relaxed at his side, making sure that no movements betrayed him. He let his eyes become liquid, stupid even, and his demeanor interested and accommodating – never mind that he wanted to scowl and disagree. 

“I’ll have your eating plan prepared. Six weeks – no, eight. Eight weeks to start and we’ll reassess. Get changed and I’ll have it delivered to your changing room.”

Now that felt wrong. It wouldn’t take him more than ten minutes to get ready to go, so that meant that this plan was already prepared, that this was _planned_. 

“If Satori-san thinks so,” he said agreeably. And he wanted to leave it there. He _meant_ to leave it there. The smartest thing would be just to shut up and leave but Kise was Kise, so- “but I am an athlete, and I need to-“

Flinching slightly, Kise stepped back as Satori slammed her hands down on the desk. 

“You’re not that special, Kise. You’re easily replaced, pretty boys who are nothing special are a common commodity. So, if you want to keep working, you’ll do as I… suggest.”

Nodding his head quickly, Kise bowed and backed out of the room. He didn’t agree – he was sixteen and still growing, and he was his basketball teams ace. Even if he wasn’t a model he _needed_ to look after himself. And that involved eating. But… if photographers had also been commenting… Entering the change room, Kise looked around. It was empty. And full of mirrors. Feeling weird, he walked up to one of the full-length ones, took off his shirt, and looked at himself. 

Kise wasn’t arrogant. He _knew_ he was attractive, although he liked to think it wasn’t just his surface looks, that there was something a little more to it. Like… his sparkle. Kise knew how to sparkle, how to be kind and caring, and attract people. Although in the end that didn’t matter much as the modeling industry was nothing if not superficial. One day, sooner rather than later, he’d be too old and then he’d leave. But right now he was in his modelling prime, plus he was still committed, and that meant listening to his manager and doing his best. 

And so he was willing to listen. But as he looked in the mirror, turning this way and that, he really didn’t see what Satori-san’s issue was. Reaching down, he pinched at his hip, and okay he could squeeze flesh between his fingers, but surely that was normal? Everyone had skin. 

Surely?

Ten minutes later he was out of make up and dressed and had Satori-san’s plan in his bag. Twenty minutes later he let himself into his empty apartment with a quiet _I’m home_ before throwing his bag and the folder on the table. He went and showered and tried to calm down. Whatever Satori-san had given him, he knew he wouldn’t like it, and when he finally sat down at the table to read it, it was worse than he could have imagined. 

Still. It was his job to do what his manager said, so he’d do it. Eight weeks wasn’t so long. 

~o~

It was going to kill him. Eight weeks was going to _kill_ him. It wasn’t that the eating plan was _complicated_ \- he was meant to eat one meal a day, and he could only drink water or black coffee (which coffee for a sixteen year old? That didn’t sound good to him, but he wasn’t a nutritionist…). And that was it. To be honest, he thought about just ignoring it and telling Satori-san that he’d followed it… but that would only worked for the days he didn’t see his manager. Which wasn’t often! Even though he was apparently not in model shape, he still seemed to be busy, with shoots booked for most days. 

If it was just the modeling, he could have handled that. Yes, it’s hard to look sexy and interested when your stomach was caving in on itself, but the hardest was training. There was no way that Kise wasn’t going to do his best – after all, he was Kaiji’s ace! But at the same time, six weeks in and he was definitely starting to feel not so good. Weak and light headed, he reflected ruefully, as he took a sip of water. Wincing, he put his bottle down. Normally he would skull the whole thing, replacing all that he’d sweated out. Right now though, water on an empty stomach hurt. Cramping wasn’t fun. If this was what girls felt like once a month, he was glad he was a guy! Although a guy with cramps, he reflecting, rubbing his tummy gently. 

“Oi, Kise, what were you – are you okay?”

His captains voice went from angry to worried. Quickly Kise dropped his hand, and looked up with a sunny smile. 

“I’m fine senpai! Does it look like something’s wrong?”

Kasamatsu stared at him for a long moment. “You’d tell me if something was wrong?”

Kise nodded quickly. “Of course!”

It wasn’t even a lie. Nothing was _wrong_. He was just on a short term diet for work. In the long run, a couple of hunger pangs was nothing. 

Kasamatsu didn’t look like he believed him. “Well… I’ve got my eye on you. Oh! Next week, practice match with Seiren. Thursday. Make sure you’ve got no modeling jobs.”

Grinning, Kise agreed. His smile seemed put Kasamatsu at ease, and his captain cuffed him over the head and stalked out. It would be nice too see Kuroko and Kagami again. Well, the game was perfect timing! If he saved himself for that one game, he should be able to go all out and handle it. It would get them off his back too. He had to laugh at that. Imagine him, Kise, turning down invitations from his friends! He’d been avoiding… not them, but where they met up. He’d never realised how much of his social life revolved around food! And he couldn’t go Maji Burger and not get something. It would look… wrong. So he’d avoided it, and now Kuroko was getting testy. Perhaps even worried. But they would meet on the court and next week would be fine. Plus, in two weeks he could eat again…

The buzzing from his phone interrupted his thoughts, and he picked it up, opening the text. 

“Damn…” 

It was from Akashi, and now he couldn’t pretend he hadn’t seen it, the _read_ glowingly obvious. 

_Tetsuya says you’ve been avoiding him. We are meeting at Maji Burger in an hour. I know you have no work._

“Rude, Akashicchi,” he murmured. That wasn’t even a real invite! 

_Akashicchi!!! (ᗒᗨᗕ)(ᗒᗨᗕ) I avoid nothing! But I’ve already eaten so I will come another time! (○^ω^)_旦~~♪_

That should do it! Kise thought happily. Of course, he underestimated Akashi. 

_That wasn’t a request. Be here. You have 53 minutes_. 

How pushy! Kise still politely responded. Even though he was annoyed. Stupid Akashi and stupid Kuroko.

_(＞Д＜)ゝ See you soon Akashicchi!_

Pouting, Kise packed up his gear. Still… it wasn’t all bad. He’d laid the ground work. They thought he’d eaten, and he’d go and get a drink first! Yeah, he could get soda water, and that would be fine. And it sounded like they’d all be there, so that was nice. 

Plans made, Kise happily headed off to meet with his friends. Afterall, he’d missed them as well!

~o~

It was 59 minutes later that Kise walked into Maji Burger. Looking around he saw his former captain surrounded by his former teammates, and Kagami, and he waved merrily before heading off to order his drink. In no time at all he was back, squeezing in beside Midorima. 

“Pardon the intrusion,” he chirped happily, taking an obnoxiously loud sip of his drink. 

Ahhhhh! Kise hoped he kept the wince of his face. Next time, he’d remember that carbonated water hurt an empty stomach more than the normal stuff. 

Turning to say hello to Midorima he paused, as Midorima was staring at him and frowning. 

“Midorimacchi?”

“You don’t look well, Kise.”

Ugh. Kise flicked his hair, and sparkled. 

“I assure you, I am looking fine! My manager is happy, and the photographers are happy, and that is what counts, no?”

“No, you definitely don’t look well. You look tired and pale and thin.”

The other end of the table looked up. Kise really didn’t need this now, so he sparkled harder. 

“Ahhhh. It’s the hard life of a popular person, Midorimacchi. I work you see, and I play basketball, speaking of which,” yes! An opportunity to naturally change the conversation! “We’re playing you next week, Kurokocchi! Kagamicchi!”

Finishing a rather large mouthful of burger, Kagami gestured at Kise with an unwrapped one. “And we’ll beat you! Kaijo is going _down_.”

“You do your best, Kagamicchi!” Kise didn’t have to pretend to be excited. It was Kaijo’s turn to win, after all.

It really was hard though. Everything smelt so good… and his drink was so horrible. He ended up just playing with the straw and acting as natural as possible. He avoided any heavy conversations, managed to avoid talking to Akashi, and Aomine had been sulking up the other end, so that all went well. And in the end, Kise managed a quick and smooth getaway.

Skipping off to the train station, Kise felt like he’d navigated that well. 

~o~

The moment Kise was out of sight, Aomine turned on Akashi. 

“You know everything – what the hell is going on with Kise?”

Kagami, who had been in conversation with Kuroko, turned to stare at him. “He seemed okay to me? Maybe a bit extra sparkly, but…”

Kagami trailed off as everyone around the table shook their heads. 

“Nope. Kise-chin doesn’t normally try so hard to not answer anything.”

Kagami stared. Even Murasakibara had picked up on something?

“And he doesn’t look well. He didn’t even drink his milkshake,” Midorima knocked against Kise’s drink. Then paused and shook it. It didn’t sound like a milkshake. “In fact, I don’t think he…”

Picking it up, he took a quick sip, then made a face. “Soda water.”

A number of eyebrows went up at that. 

“Kise-kun doesn’t like soda. And especially not soda water.”

“How the hell do you know that?” 

Kagami couldn’t help it. These miracles were really strange. And days like today showed how strange they really were. At first Kagami thought they hated each other. To be fair, they probably had. And to be even fairer, Kuroko had done a good job of giving that impression. But the more he hung out with them, the more he figured out they were an incredibly dysfunctional yet close knit group. It was weird, and he still couldn’t figure it out properly, but if they were all worried about Kise…

“Ryouta doesn’t like sparkling anything.” Akashi picked up the cup and also took a sip, looking thoughtful. 

“I don’t think he likes the competition,” Midorima added. 

Kagami’s jaw dropped. “Was that a joke? If it was, it was funny, and I am seriously concerned that you are being funny, Midorima.”

Scowling at him, Midorima curtly told him to die. Before Kagami could respond, Akashi spoke. 

“Kuroko, he’s playing you next week. Keep an eye on him, and report back to me.”

Looking serious, Kuroko nodded. Kagami couldn’t help thinking that Kise was not actually the most dramatic miracle around. 

~o~

Bouncing the basketball, Kagami shot randomly at the hoop. 

It missed. 

The rest of his team looked at him uncertainly. 

“Kagami, if there is anything wrong, I think you should tell me now!” Coach’s voice was tough, but he could hear the care there. 

“Uh, no, coach. I’m just… ehhhhh I’m just a little distracted.”

She eyed him. “Do I need to change the line up? I know this is just a practice game, but Kaijo isn’t to be-“

“Coach, we will play our best.”

Kagami jumped. “Kuroko! When did you get here?!”

Looking inscrutable, Kuroko just drifted over to the bench. Aida turned to Hyuuga. 

“He’s been here the whole time, right?”

Hyuuga just shrugged. He honestly had no idea. Crossing her arms over her chest, Aida looked at her first years. “I’ve got my eyes on you, Kagami. If anything looks wrong, I’m pulling you out.”

As it happened, Kagami wasn’t the problem.

~o~

“Kurokocchi! Kagamicchi! Ready to have your asses- _ow_! Captain!”

“Go get changed, right now, Kise.”

Pouting Kise headed off. Kasamatsu bowed his head, but Aida and Hyuuga just waved it off. They knew Kise and his antics fairly well by now. 

Soon they were all the court, ready for the tip off. From that point on it was fast and furious. Kise and Kagami chased each other up and down, and both teams were in top form: neither Kaijo nor Seiren gave an inch. By the end of the first quarter the score was 25 all. 

Over in the Serien huddle, Kagami was muttering to Kuroko. 

“Does he seem off today? I can’t tell whether he is, or whether your ridiculous miracles have put weird thoughts in my head.”

“Your weird thoughts are your own, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko informed Kagami piously. “But… I think he’s off. He doesn’t seem at full power.”

Abruptly, Kuroko stopped talking, and turned to give his full attention to Aida and Hyuuga. Hyuuga was looking black with rage. 

“So nice of the first years to join us. Anything you want to share with the team?”

Kagami shook his head, but Kuroko paused. Hyuuga raised an eyebrow, but felt his temper receding. At least they dynamic duo were discussing something basketball related. 

“It… it isn’t relevant to our game,” Kuroko finally said, “but I am a little worried about Kise-kun. I haven’t played him recently, of course, but something seems a little off.”

The team turned to stare at Kaijo. At that particular moment Kise was being yelled at by his captain, while another of his team mates had him in a headlock and was ruffling his hear. For a second it seemed as if Kise lost… balance? Focus? _Something_. But then everything clicked back in. 

Aida bit her lip. She wouldn’t like it if the opposing team came to her about her players. And honestly? Kise was still a monster, and was probably fine. It was odd for Kuroko to worry though… Shaking it off, she pointed her finger at her team. 

“Your play isn’t good enough to worrying about the opposition, Kuroko. All of you, go hard, and make sure you get right back on defense!”

“Yes, Coach,” the whole team replied before the all returned to the court. 

The second quarter was just as hard as the second. Maybe harder… with coach’s words ringing in their ears, they were relentless. Of course, Kaijo was too. And Kise… Kise was nothing short of magnificent. Until moments before the end of the quarter, just after he’d stolen the ball and was racing back to his own goal, he felt the world shake a little. Ignoring it, he lined up for a dunk, only to find himself so light headed at the top of his arc, he promptly passed out, falling to the ground with a dramatic _thunk_. 

Kagami, who had been hot on his trail almost tripped over him. 

“Shit! Kise?”

And with that, pandemonium broke loose.

~o~

It didn’t take long for Kise to come round. Eyelashes fluttering attractively, he looked around. When he finally managed to focus his vision, he was surrounded by both teams. Blinking he went to sit up, only to have his captain press a firm hand against his chest, pushing right back down. 

“Don’t move, Kise. We’re just getting the nurse.”

Kise felt disbelief. “What? Senpai, no! I’m okay! We can keep…” he trailed off, as he got a look at the very serious faces. 

“You hit your head, Kise. You’re getting it checked out.”

Kise relaxed down, rebounding straight back up when Kasamatsu released him. He ignored the way his captain growled his name, and the way his head spun with the sudden change in elevation. 

“Okay, so I probably can’t keep playing, but I can go and sit on the bench – sorry Kurokocchi, it looks like I am not at my best today and-“

Kise’s ramblings put most people at ease. Just not Kuroko. He recognized the behaviour: overwhelm everyone with inanity so they don’t ask about the thing you’re worried about. He wandered off a little, and grabbed his phone. 

_Kise-kun fainted in the middle of the match. He is probably okay, but Kagami-kun thinks he hit his head, so we are waiting for the nurse. Kise-kun says he is okay.”_

Akashi’s response was fast. _Let me know when and where Ryouta goes to after this_. 

Kuroko slipped his phone back into his bag. It ended up taking 45 minutes for the nurse to arrive, and when she did she said she couldn’t see anything wrong, but if he had any dizziness to go straight to a clinic. And if it happened again he should go to a doctor. 

Kise smiled and nodded, but Kagami was horrified. 

“Healthy athletes don’t just faint for no reason! That’s terrible advice. Oi, Kise-“ 

By this point, Kise had somehow managed to pack up and already had his bag in his back. He smiled. 

“It’s okay, Kagamicchi. I guess I should rest, just to be on the safe side. Senpai told me to go home, so I’ll head there now. But don’t worry! We will win next time and when we do-“ 

“Kise! Why’re you still here? I told you to go home. Text me when you get there. If it’s more than 45 minutes-“ 

“Senpai!” 

“I know where you live, brat. You go straight home, and if takes too long I’ll triple your training as soon as you’re cleared to play.” 

Whining to himself, Kise turned to wave at Seiren. “See Kurokocchi, I’m such an obedient kohai, I’m gonna head home. But we will win next time.” 

And with the challenge thrown down, Kise bounced off. By the time he was out of sight no one was in the mood to keep playing. Kasamatsu and Aida agreed to arrange a game for a later date. Kuroko sent Akashi a text detailing Kise's plans, and by the time he was changed Akashi had replied. 

_Head straight to Ryouta’s. GoM meeting_. 

“Wanna get something to eat, since we have an early mark?” 

Sighing, Kuroko looked up at his ace. “I’m sorry, Kagami-kun, but Akashi-kun has called an emergency meeting at Kise-kun’s place.” 

Kagami snorted. “Does Kise know?” 

Kuroko shook his head. Then paused. 

“I don’t think so? Since it is about him, it would be foolish to give him warning. Kise-kun, despite his trusting nature can be a very slippery character. Something Akashi-kun knows well. I know that if I were Akashi-kun I would not give Kise-kun the opportunity to avoid us all.” 

Kagami shook his head. “Okay, well let me know how it goes? To be honest, I’m a little worried about Kise too. It was pretty loud when his head hit the floor.” 

“Maybe it will knock some sense into him,” Kuroko murmured. 

_~o~_

“I’m ho-oome,” Kise trilled softly as he entered his apartment. 

He took a moment to toe off his shoes, and when he turned around he slammed straight into a muscular chest. Screeching, he stepped back, only to trip over the step. Flailing wildly it was only Aomine’s quick reflexes stopped him from falling over again. 

Grabbing a wrist, he pulled Kise up. Smashing into Aomine’s chest again, Kise was just grateful he didn’t fall the other way and smash his face. That would have been bad. 

_Not my day,_ he thought ruefully. And now that he thought about it… 

“Aominecchi!” Kise scolded. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at training?” 

“Shouldn’t _you_ be at training?” he countered. “And I’m here because I’m closest, and we all decided that if you were home alone, you probably wouldn’t let anyone else in.” 

That brought Kise up short. “Everyone…?” 

“Pardon the intrusion.” 

Midorima was through the door, Murasakibara and Kuroko not far behind. 

“Thank you for your hospitality, Kise-kun. I’ll just go put the kettle on.” 

Waving a hand bemusedly, Kise watched as his friend walked into the kitchen, Murasakibara hot on his heels. 

_“I’m hungry Kise-chin. I’ll just find something to eat.”_

“No- wait!” The words exploded out before he could stop them. 

Murasakibara turned around, turning his big bored eyes on Kise. 

“Why, Kise-chin?” 

Oh shit! Kise flushed immediately. That was a seriously suspicious response. But he couldn’t feed them. There was no food in the house! He hadn’t wanted to tempt himself, but it would look weird… and no. No. He had this. He had a really good reason. He’d been busy and eating out and that was why- 

“I don’t have any snacks, Murasakibacchi. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t been eating at home-“ 

“Then where have you been eating, Ryouta?” 

Kise spun around. “Akashicchi too?” 

“Akashicchi too,” even as he was striding through Kise’s house straight towards the- 

Oh no… that damn eating plan was still out on the table. Right. Kise could do this. 

“Ohhhhh nooooo! My house is so messy, just let me-“ 

Instead of rushing forward like he wanted too, Aomine had his arm again, and was jerking him back. 

“What the hell are you talking about, Kise? This place is spotless.” 

Tugging forward, Kise couldn’t help but reply. “That’s only compared to _your_ room, Aominecchi. It’s because I clean that _my_ house never gets-“ 

“When was the last time you ate, Ryouta.” 

Crap. He got distracted, and now Akashi was holding that stupid plan in his hands. 

“Ehhh? At the normal time!” 

Akashi fixed him with a glare. “You have never lied to me before, and I really don’t recommend starting now. Aomine, you and Kise take the sofa, the rest of us will join you.” 

“But I don’t want to the sofa,” Kise whined as Aomine dragged him into the lounge room. “You shouldn’t be so rough, Aominechhi. I hit my head today, so you should be gentle. _Gentle_.” 

Aomine of course ignored this. Kuroko didn’t. Popping back into the room with the tea pot and a stack of tea cups, he informed the room that Kise had only hit his head because he fainted in the middle of trying to dunk. Kise could feel all their eyes on him, and he purposefully didn’t make eye contact. That was so embarrassing. Although... 

"Hey, Kurokocchi? Did I score?" 

Ignoring him, Kuroko bustled around making tea, and when he offered a cup to Kise, Kise smiled and shook his head. Even though he wanted to ignore them all, he still had manners. No one else did. Murasakibara complained about the lack of food, Midorima and Aomine kept staring at him, Kuroko did his misdirection, and so Kise had no idea where he was, and Akashi… 

Pulling up a chair, Akashi slowly and carefully looked through the folder. Every so often he would stop to sip his tea. Or look up and stare at Kise for a moment, before continuing to read. Finally, he closed the folder and put it aside. 

“This is unhealthy. This is unhealthy for anyone, let alone a teenage boy who is an athlete as well. How long have you been doing this?” 

Flushing, Kise looked away. “I know it’s not ideal… but it’s only for a short while, and-“ 

“How long have you been doing this?” Akashi’s voice was like velvet steel. 

Shuddering, Kise moved back against Aomine. It was a bad move, because it started Aomine talking. 

“You know, when I stopped him falling over before-“ 

“That was your fault, you bastard!” 

“-he felt really frail and light.” 

Kise was offended. “I am not frail!” 

“Ryouta. How long have you been doing this?” 

Whimpering a little, Kise looked down at his lap. He really wasn’t going to get out of this. Squaring his shoulders, he looked his former captain in the eye. 

“It’s honestly a short-term thing, Akashicchi. My manager said I would only need to do it for eight weeks-“ 

“Eight weeks! That’s insane, Kise!” 

That came from Midorima who was now reading through the folder. 

“Eight weeks _max_ ,” Kise stressed. “Anyway that was about six weeks ago-“ 

It was closer to seven, but Kise was happy to underestimate for now. 

“-so there isn’t too long left and-“ 

“You will stop this immediately.” 

Kise wavered. But he was nothing if not a professional. “Akashicchi! I can’t! My manager said I’m getting fat and-“ 

“What?!” 

Kise looked around. Nearly everyone in the room had said that. Even Murasakibara looked surprised. 

“I mean, I have to trust my manager, right? And Satori-san said it would only be eight weeks.” 

Kise wasn’t an idiot. He wasn’t going to tell them that Satori would reassess after eight weeks. Unfortunately, Akashi wasn’t an idiot either. 

“This nonsense stops immediately, Ryouta. You are much to thin. You’ve lost muscle mass, which will make it harder to play, and need I remind you, you are still growing?” 

“But Akashicchi-“ 

“No. I’ve decided. And my orders are absolute.” 

Kise pouted, trying to think of what to do. “But Satori-san said-“ 

“I will deal with your manager. In the meantime, Shintarou, take that ridiculous folder and trash it.” 

“With pleasure,” Midorima replied as he grabbed the offending article. 

“Atsushi, Tetsuya, please go and buy ingredients to cook dinner with.” 

The two looked at each other 

“Aka-chin. Kuro-chin and me can’t cook.” 

“Ah. A minor miscalculation. Find somewhere close by and get food then. Daiki, keep a hand on Ryouta, he looks like he’s about to run at any moment. 

“I will not! This is my house! And this is my offended face! Akashicchi…” 

“Leave your manager to me, Ryouta. They should never had said that. They should never have given you this starvation diet.” Akashi looked at Kise seriously for a moment. “I understand why you did it, but you will _not_ do it again. It’s not healthy.” 

“I know that! I do! But I thought maybe I was getting a little-“ 

“Kise, you were already too thin before this started! How are you going to be able to beat me if you can barely stand? Stop listening to stupid people saying stupid things.” 

Aomine sounded pissed, but Kise was just as pissed. 

“It’s not that easy!” Kise flared back. “If my manager tells me to do something, I’m supposed to do it, Aominecchi! And Satori-san said that many photographers were complaining about how fat I was, and I suppose I know that I’m not fat, but I guess on camera I wasn’t looking so good.” Kise turned his golden eyed glare on Akashi. “What am I meant to do then Akashicchi? I don’t get jobs unless I have a-“ 

“I will find a new manager. Someone who will keep me informed.” 

“What? Akashi, no-“ 

“And tomorrow you will tell that captain of yours exactly what has been going on.” 

“Akashi! No!” Kasamatsu might be worse than Akashi, Kise thought. 

“And someone _will_ be making sure you are eating properly-“ 

“Akashicchi! No!!! I don’t have an eating disorder, I was just following my managers instructions and-“ 

“You have proven you can’t be trusted to be sensible, Ryouta. Once you have won my trust back I will take a step back, but until then-“ 

Aomine threw an arm around Kise’s shoulder, pulling him in for an awkward hug. “I wouldn’t say that, Akashi, if I was you. You’ll be looking after this one forever. He’s got no common sense at all.” 

“I take offense at that, Aominecchi! I have great-“ 

Akashi let the bickering wash over him. Aomine probably wasn’t wrong. Kise was many things, but he wasn’t sensible and he had no sense of self preservation. He’d probably be looking over Kise for a long while yet. 

At that moment Midorima returned, looking satisfied as he dusted off his hands. Kuroko and Murasakibara were hot on his heels, arms piled high with bags. 

“We got meat. Yakiniku sounds good, eh everyone?” 

I also got vegetables, since Murasakibara-kun only got meat.” 

“Does Kise even own a grill?” 

“…Kise-kun? Do you own a grill?” 

“No Kurokocchi!!!! I actually-" 

Sighing, Akashi squeezed the bridge of his nose, then texted one of the security to get a grill delivered. None of his miracles appeared to have any common sense. Looked like he’d be looking over all of them for a long while to come. 

**Author's Note:**

> yep, bringing the melodrama. I just love hurt Kise who has protective friends. That be my jam.


End file.
